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Deaths of some great sense-is have somewhat alarmed me, noticed that most of them died of fatal diseases, if not cancer, massive heart attacks and other terminal illnesses. These consequences have worried me a bit, so I did my own research and analysis silently with regards to practicing aikido.

Mine is just of word of advise and should served as brotherly concern if not some sort of warning. It's up to you guys I just wanted to share my views and conclusions...

Please refrain from focusing on one point, especially to those practicing ki development, or to the higher ranking Aikidoka. There's so much to understand about ki, it's principles and practices. My esoteric inclinations has drawn me to this sports that I have come to love.

I do practice hatha, arhatic and raja yoga, I'm on my higher stage of meditations, so I needed a higher degree of physical exercises/activities. And I chose Aikido for it is somewhat congruent to my spiritual principles. It is a must before and after meditation that we do some simple stretching or rigid exercise to facilitate the flows of energy that has down-poured upon us during a meditation. Since we consider aikido as a meditation in motion, during that moment we are only concern on focusing on one point or the center. Thus we are on a meditative trance in keeping one point. In yoga one point corresponds to the sex chakra or the sex energy center. There are seven major chakras or energy centers, these energy centers controls our vital organs. When we keep one point, we activate that energy center only (which controls our reproductive organs), we tend to forget the other six energy centers. These energy centers should be aligned or incoherence in motions, for the energy passes through these centers(chakra). If we activate only one chakra and the others not, there's a great danger of damaging the internal organ/s being controlled by those certain energy centers.

These what might have happened to those great sensei who have passed away, because for me theirs is not just an ordinary deaths...

Of course, being of a generation that is commonly in the "later" part of the average lifespan of the public at large could be a big part of that.

But it would be interesting to know if the Deshi's have a longer lifespan than others of their age from less active, athletic lifestyles. (I suspect that is the case, but may be just wishing it to be so)
Lan

I think that once people have reached the six score plus ten, they should forget about stats. I mean, we all die, and we have to die of something. As we live longer and longer it obviously means we are doing better but at the end of the day, we have to die of something. Maybe it is good to die suddenly of a massive heart attack when you're old rather than wait for death to slowly creep up while incapacitating you for years.

Anyway, the original poster cited six other important points - so, what are they? Where are they? Anyone interested in the so called 'one-point' should surely be interested if there are another six.

Um, they died of fatal diseases? Anything that kills you is a fatal disease.
Outside of war zones or underdeveloped countries that have infectious disease problems, cancer and heart disease are the major killers of most people.
I'm sorry, as a public health nurse, I have to bluntly say that this is just silly.

[quote=Janet Rosen]
... cancer and heart disease are the major killers of most people.
QUOTE]
That's just what I mean - there's nothing else to kill us! And if we get rid of these two, what will we die of?

A word of concern to all that practice meditation and take it to an all out extreme.Do not dwell on KI as the essence of life and death..Practice the martial art and follow principles...But when one gets too into the mistic inner energy..You might think you have entered a path of spiritual enlightment that makes you see things in the true...Jesus is the only way,the truth and the life..Emptying yourself thru meditation makes you vulnerable to evil spirits..I dont mean to get religous on you all but threads like these just make me want to quit practicing Aikido at times..But then again I just focus and go to class as a hobby and train hard and put all that bothers aside..Many of these meditation practices teach to renew the spirit thru inner energy and chi<>ki>.I mean i know Aikido is a art that emphasizes KI..Just leave it at that..

1) The crown chakra at the top of the head - controls the brain
2) Ajna chakra (browse) - controls the pituitary gland
3) Throat chakra - thyroid gland
4) Heart chakra - the heart
5) Solar Plexus chakra - this affect diapragm area / the stomach / the intestines / the liver and the panceas...
6) Sex chakra - the reproductive organs (the so called one point)
7) Root chakra - at the end of the spine (the "sleeping serpent of fire" lies)

..Emptying yourself thru meditation makes you vulnerable to evil spirits..I dont mean to get religous on you all but threads like these just make me want to quit practicing Aikido at times..

I keep coming across this idea that meditation is about emptying the mind. This seems to be a preconception held by people who have not practised meditation with a proper teacher. I suspect it is also an inaccurate polemic spread by those within parts of the evangelical Christian movement, intended to sow distrust. To me this seems to come from the same place of fear and distrust as something I was told personally recently: that yoga is "introducing Hinduism through the back door".

Meditation, as I understand it, both in the yogic and Christian traditions, is a very personal practice of letting go of the debris of everyday living, and learning to see more clearly the true essence of things. This is nothing like emptiness.

Meditation, as I understand it, both in the yogic and Christian traditions, is a very personal practice of letting go of the debris of everyday living, and learning to see more clearly the true essence of things. This is nothing like emptiness.

Alex, that's neatly put. I agree. It's about relating to everything, not making it nothing.

About chakra, I would say that the second one is far from only related to sexuality, in the very complex Indian tradition. And if it were, I would not mind a bit

Personally, I would rather link the root chakra, if any particular one of them, to sexuality. That's where the genitals are, and isn't the coiled up serpent, rising by stimulation, an obvious metaphore of at least male sexuality?

Sex might not prolong your personal life, but it definitely prolongs life as such

Deaths of some great sense-is have somewhat alarmed me, noticed that most of them died of fatal diseases, if not cancer, massive heart attacks and other terminal illnesses. These consequences have worried me a bit, so I did my own research and analysis silently with regards to practicing aikido.

You did your research and analysis silently eh? Pity you couldn't keep quiet.

Quote:

Antonino Digohermano wrote:

Mine is just of word of advise and should served as brotherly concern if not some sort of warning. It's up to you guys I just wanted to share my views and conclusions...

And satisfy your own ego.

Quote:

Antonino Digohermano wrote:

Please refrain from focusing on one point, especially to those practicing ki development, or to the higher ranking Aikidoka. There's so much to understand about ki, it's principles and practices. My esoteric inclinations has drawn me to this sports that I have come to love.

I do practice hatha, arhatic and raja yoga, I'm on my higher stage of meditations,

"Higher"......Hmmm. You could be said to be high certainly.

Quote:

Antonino Digohermano wrote:

so I needed a higher degree of physical exercises/activities. And I chose Aikido for it is somewhat congruent yada...Yadda....half baked spiritual rubbish...these energy centers controls our vital organs. When we keeblah....blah....yet more semi-concious ramblings.....possibly should read a medical text or two before posting..... These energy centers should be aligned or incoherence in motions, for the energy passes through these centers(chakryadda...yadda...still going and going...won't shut up.....determined to show himself up....hose certain energy centers.

These what might have happened to those great sensei who have passed away, because for me theirs is not just an ordinary deaths...

Somebody call the men in white coats. We've got a live one here!

People live. People die. All the semi literate pseudo scientific psychobabble in the world won't change that.

A word of concern to all that practice meditation and take it to an all out extreme.Do not dwell on KI as the essence of life and death..Practice the martial art and follow principles...But when one gets too into the mistic inner energy..You might think you have entered a path of spiritual enlightment that makes you see things in the true...Jesus is the only way,the truth and the life..Emptying yourself thru meditation makes you vulnerable to evil spirits.

Quote:

I keep coming across this idea that meditation is about emptying the mind. This seems to be a preconception held by people who have not practised meditation with a proper teacher. I suspect it is also an inaccurate polemic spread by those within parts of the evangelical Christian movement, intended to sow distrust.

Jesus and evil spirits aside, I think the advice in the first quote is fairly sound as certain meditative practice can leave the practitioner very open to another's control and conditioning or to some sorts of delusions.

Quote:

To me this seems to come from the same place of fear and distrust as something I was told personally recently: that yoga is "introducing Hinduism through the back door".

Rupert A. wrote: That's just what I mean - there's nothing else to kill us! And if we get rid of these two, what will we die of?
hmmm.... old age?
As for the rest of the thread- not all senseis go on "spiritual paths" and not all believe in them (so Tony S., don't quit Aikido, you might just lose a great MA! )
people die because they die- how many in your dojo practice 2-4 times a week, but after class go to the local pub and drink 4 half liters of beer (just does wonders to your liver... ). How many smoke? (and if it's just cigarretes it's "good")
It's known that some old senseis used to indulge in wonderful competitions like who can drink the most sea water and so... I can't say any of these activities are healthy.
People don't neccesarily lead a healthy life just because they do Aikido, and so they might die at an early age or not.
It also depends on the genetics we get and the surroundings we live in (air pollution, correct diet and so).
As for the chakra's- some believe in them, others don't. I'm not saying either, I never got to actually be explained enough to "take sides".
Each person should live as they see fit, and that's fine. If they die at an early or old age, some would say "only he above knows that".

Meditation, as I understand it, both in the yogic and Christian traditions, is a very personal practice of letting go of the debris of everyday living, and learning to see more clearly the true essence of things. This is nothing like emptiness.

Hmmmm.....Yogic and "Ki" practices of meditation all are ultimately aimed at taking the "essence" of life, bringing it up the spine, and "awakening" the higher conscience. The "emptying the mind", etc., is part of the process of approaching those controls. The metaphors of "heaven" and "earth" also play into this belief system (analogy within analogy), BTW.

The "reproductive chakra" has its analogue in the "lower dantien" (not the middle dantien that Tohei is talking about focusing on) and there is the same idea of mind, essence, spine (through the "Gate of Life", etc.) that there is in yogic tradition. Take a look at some of O-Sensei's doka and writings ... I think there's more than a comment or two, if you look for them, in "The Essence of Aikido" the mentions these relationships, even though they're cloaked in Japanese terminology, etc. They still derive from the Chinese ideas, which in turn derived from the ancient Indian ideas.

In other words, it's not "spiritual" in the seraphic western sense to do this type of meditation.... there is a common mix-up of the "purifying and sanctifying yourself" idea in western thought with the "get in touch with your inner body control mechanisms" of the eastern approach to meditation. They're not the same thing.

Again, I think the theoretical part of these things is interesting, but it has to be understood that the seemingly esoteric ideas of "meditation", "dantien" (or "chakras"), "ki", and so on, are all rooted in tangible phenomena and observations from the physical world. And the old saying of "if you know it, you can do it; if you can't do it, you don't know it" holds true. And even if you know it and can do it, you're not necessarily assured of a long life. Introduce me to one Taoist Immortal.